Stay Human

The Freedom Flotilla II: Stay Human will challenge the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza this week.  There is, of course, much controversy surrounding this flotilla. I do not intend to unpack all of the issues involved.  My interest here is in the meaning behind the name of the flotilla- Stay Human.

The phrase Stay Human is credited to Italian human rights activist Vittorio Arrigoni, who visited Gaza in 2008 on the first Free Gaza Flotilla and subsequently spent much time in the area.  He was murdered in Gaza a few months ago; the details surrounding his death are murky, although many suspect that he was killed by a militant group.  UC-Irvine Professor Mark LeVine notes in an article on Al Jazeera’s English website that Arrigoni’s mantra, Stay human, “well summarizes what can only be described as the prime directive of life for Gazans under a dehumanizing siege.”[1]

LeVine credits Arrigoni with inspiring the “Gaza Youth Breaks Out” (GYBO) movement, a Gazan youth grassroots resistance movement.  These young Gazans are sick of politics and NGO’s.  They live daily with little political voice and few economic opportunities (unemployment in Gaza is currently at just over 45%).  Certainly the quality of one’s life is limited by social and economic barriers, but one’s humanity itself is not determined by economic or socio-political power.  GYBO activists are asserting their humanity through creative forms of resistance.  They take seriously the injunction to “stay human” through asserting their own narratives of life in Gaza, rather than conforming to the various narratives put forth by Hamas, Fatah, Israel, America, or the many other voices that often dominate the storytelling of Israel/Palestine.  Gazans are too often objectified through each of these narratives- they are viewed as passive recipients of whatever fate is assigned to them.  While they have few avenues to physically refuse the multiple occupations under which they live, they are creatively resisting the hijacking of their perspectives.

The participants in this flotilla broadcast a much-needed call for the world’s recognition of the humanity of those living in Gaza.  Beyond the official politics, there are human lives at stake here, and these people have their own stories to tell.  We must remember that.

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[1] http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/06/201162110840143444.html